What is "tuamotus"

The Tuamotus or the Tuamotu Archipelago (, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of almost 80 islands and atolls, stretching from the northwest to the southeast over an area of the southern Pacific Ocean roughly the size of Western Europe, with a land area of and 16,000 inhabitants, forming the largest chain of atolls in the world. Its major islands are Anaa, Fakarava, Hao and Makemo.

The Tuamotu islands were initially settled by Polynesians, so Tuamotuans share a common culture and language. The people of Tahiti originally referred to the islands as the Paumotus, which means the "Subservient Islands", until a delegation from the island convinced the French authorities to change it to Tuamotus, which means the "Distant Islands".